The Wolf of Wall Street sets Australian record for an R-rated film

Controversial film about the life of crooked stockbroker Jordan Belfort, starring Australia's Margot Robbie, takes $12.96 million in just two weeks.

The Wolf of Wall Street has another record to add to its title as the most profane major movie to come out of Hollywood.

Director Martin Scorsese's take on the wild life of a corrupt New York stockbroker has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in Australia, breaking a record set by the 1992 Sharon Stone-Michael Douglas thriller Basic Instinct.

A solid second week at the box office suggests The Wolf of Wall Street will continue selling tickets in the lead-up to the Oscars, where the film is up for best picture, director, adapted screenplay and acting awards for both Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays crooked stockbroker Jordan Belfort, and Jonah Hill, who plays offsider Donnie Azoff.

No doubt the controversy surrounding the movie - its record 506 uses of the F-word and debate about whether it glorifies Belfort's excesses – and Australian actress Margot Robbie's breakthrough performance as Belfort's wife have helped.

According to distributor Roadshow, The Wolf of Wall Street has also become Scorsese's most successful movie at the Australian box office.

In the wake of its success – taking $US268 million around the world so far – the Hollywood Reporter says the American TV network CBS has ordered a pilot for a Wall St drama from executive producer John Cusack.